Decision details

1.  A fee of £80 is to be charged to each resident who has a Disabled Person Parking Bay installed outside of their home from October 2016.

2.  An annual fee of £80 is to be charged for any blue badge holder wishing to have a Disabled Person Parking Bay Permit, allowing exclusive use of the allocated parking bay for the individual blue badge holder.

3.  Authority be delegated to the Executive Director of Environment and Community Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, to investigate additional payment options for disabled person parking bay permits; and

4.  The white bar marking scheme continue in its existing format but allow for the installation of white bars in locations with single yellow lines, with the installation fee remaining unchanged.

Following public consultation, a revised Disabled Parking Bay Permit scheme is to be taken forward. Blue badge holders with an on-street disabled parking bay now have the option of an exclusive parking permit. Report ES16031 also outlines an Equality Impact Assessment for the process.

In considering the report, Members of the Environment PDS Committee noted that the initial outlay of £160 (£80 for installation of a bay and £80 for the permit) might deter some service users (who would benefit from the scheme) from applying, particularly those on lower incomes. As such, Decision 3 above reflects an additional recommendation proposed by the Committee.

Although continuing in its current format, the White Bar Marking Scheme will also take account of a further proposal from the Environment PDS Committee. Recognising that white bars should only be installed in areas where they are needed and that the current scheme does not allow white bars in addition to, or in place of yellow lines, some residents, especially those living near railway stations, benefit from white bars across their driveways and are willing to pay for the lines to help deter inconsiderate parking. As such, Decision 4 above enables white bars, in addition to single yellow lines, if the location meets other criteria defined in the Scheme.